The next best calibre?

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Im sure you have heard that old "chrony"s can be off on velocities (from personal experience as well) .... would be interesting what a LabRadar says, or at least a Magneto Speed.


That said, I had a 35 Whelen that has been re-barreled to a 9,3x62 with better results. Had fail to fire issues with the standard whelen. maybe the AI version would be better.

@wildwilderness
Lab radar, magneto speed or chrony chronograph are all much of a muchness. I have checked my chrony with a magneto speed and there was only a few fps in it.
When I set my chrony up I always do a baseline check with 22lr target ammo. This ammo is very consistent and gives 1070 +- 10fps, the same as on the box. So I can assume that it is reading correctly.
Your fail to fir with you whelen sound like a headspace issue either from the start or from bumping the shoulder to far back when reloading.
Mine is a push feed action and even empty primed cases go bang. Even the 400 Whelen notorious for minimal shoulder if set up correctly has NO failure to fire issues.
I'm glad you like the metric Whelen .
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Oh I see it but I do wonder about how high the pressures are. Either way comparing a light for caliber bullet (225gr / .35) to a heavy for caliber bullet (200gr / .300WM) is a bit of an apples to oranges comparison.

A fairer comparison perhaps would be a .375H&H shooting 250gr bullets at 2900fps.

@PHOENIX PHIL
How bout a 35 cal 250gr at 2700fps. In regards to pressures I experience no pressure probles at all and ifn they were dangerous speer, Sierra and nosler wouldn't post them and hornaday wouldn't load the 200 grainers at 2,900 fps..
If you look at the pressures that were shown with other charts they run at 46 to 47,000cup. Very low pressure for an 06 case. Load the Whelen to 52,000cup where it should be ( the same as the 270, 280ai, 25-06) and you get a cartridge with a different ilk compared to the low pressure rounds.
With modern reloading in modern and M17s are more than capable of handling this. All that has been done is the Whelen has made a new and improved appearance in 2019 onwards.
Bob

 

[Dr Ray]

Hi All,

Currently in my safe I have .222, .243, .270 and 30-30.

Here in Australia I do all my deer hunting with the .270 and finding it does the job but….

Not including big bore for dangerous game, what would be the next best calibre to get to “fill the gap” if I say wanted to shoot heavier bullets and do a PG hunt?

Cheers,
Shifty

Suggest 338 Winchester magnum.
I’d use a 225 grain bullet.

 

[CBH Australia]

Suggest 338 Winchester magnum.
I’d use a 225 grain bullet.

Dr Ray,
You do know Bob is not a fan of the .338, he's gonna say it's gotta be .35

 

[Dr Ray]

Dr Ray,
You do know Bob is not a fan of the .338, he's gonna say it's gotta be .35

I’ll wait in anticipation for a reaction Bite
Ha

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I’ll wait in anticipation for a reaction Bite
Ha

@Dr Ray
Wait no longer Doc
The 225gn would be a good bullet in the 338 but a lot of people like the 210 grainers.
Bob

 

[Dr Ray]

@Dr Ray
Wait no longer Doc
The 225gn would be a good bullet in the 338 but a lot of people like the 210 grainers.
Bob

Is that really you, Bob??

 

[Dr Ray]

@Dr Ray
Wait no longer Doc
The 225gn would be a good bullet in the 338 but a lot of people like the 210 grainers.
Bob

True but 225 will provide the best energy whack

 

[KWALATA SAFARIS]

I would opt for a 300 Win mag, or heavier 338

Currently in my safe I have .222, .243, .270 and 30-30.

Here in Australia I do all my deer hunting with the .270 and finding it does the job but….

Not including big bore for dangerous game, what would be the next best calibre to get to “fill the gap” if I say wanted to shoot heavier bullets and do a PG hunt?

Cheers,
Shifty

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Is that really you, Bob??

@Dr Ray
Yes mate it's smee and no I haven't had any Bundy. Just like 225s especially Woodleigh and accubonds. I have some 225gn Woodleigh RNSP loaded to 2,880 fps to try on some pigs. Should work real well.
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

True but 225 will provide the best energy whack

@Dr Ray
I agree. Depending on the load I use the Whelen give somewhere between just over 4,000fpe and 4,300fpe. This give a hell of a big hit all the way out to over 400 yards.

 

[Dr Ray]

Dr Ray,
You do know Bob is not a fan of the .338, he's gonna say it's gotta be .35

I had the surprise I certainly wasn’t expecting


Bob likes the 225 grain in 338

 

[Shifty]

@Dr Ray
Yes mate it's smee and no I haven't had any Bundy. Just like 225s especially Woodleigh and accubonds. I have some 225gn Woodleigh RNSP loaded to 2,880 fps to try on some pigs. Should work real well.
Bob

No Bundy!!?? You’re about 5 hours behind!!

 

[Forrest Halley]

Oh I see it but I do wonder about how high the pressures are. Either way comparing a light for caliber bullet (225gr / .35) to a heavy for caliber bullet (200gr / .300WM) is a bit of an apples to oranges comparison.

A fairer comparison perhaps would be a .375H&H shooting 250gr bullets at 2900fps.

A fair comparison with what some of these folks are doing is Mk 248Mod 0 vs. pet load stoked to advantage.

 

[rigbymauser]

welll..

a 300 H&H or a .333Jeffery would take over where the 270win lost breath..

 

[Dakota Hunter]

I d

Well, this is like a bunch of the questions posted here..."What is your fourth favorite all around cartridge?"...

In reality it may depend on what you may hunt on your PG safari. Most cartridges in the 30-06 class are reasonable for most PG. You say heavy or heavy for caliber? That will of course increase recoil of any cartridge and has to be considered. Sooooo- Upward from 270 Win could include such 30s like the 30-06 and the 300 Mags. But IMO, if you throw in the possibility of eland, the formula changes somewhat. The eland is so much more animal than any of the other PG, excepting giraffe, that you have to think bigger thus creating a bigger gap between the 270 and what may be best choice. Throw in the eland and I'd say go bigger, where the 375 HH is not too much gun. It can be used with great success for all the other PG as well. If you don't like recoil or are not used to it, you may be better off with something like a 9.3x62 or Bob's fave- the 35 Wheee-land! If I were you (and I'm not of course) I would include eland in the potential interest list. In my opinion they are the bee's knees of PG as are wildebeest and oryx- neither of which are soft, push-over game in their own right. No matter how you decide, good luck!

I defiantly agree eland are in a different class when it comes to plains game. I used my Heym Martini in 416 Rigby to shoot mine and I didn’t feel it was overkill ! I also used that same rifle to take Gemsbok, Black Wildebeest Cow, Warthogs and a Lioness with the same rifle on that trip with no problems. The 416 Rigby is a versatile caliber in my opinion.

 

[Dakota Hunter]

Exactly right! I used a .30-06 with 180 grain Particians to shoot a bunch of plains game from steenbuck, through kudu and zebra in 1983. Now tell me how I was under gunned for plains game this year with a .300 WM and 200 grainers.
By the way, that kudu and water buck are gorgeous. Congratulations!

Thank you, I greatly enjoyed hunting them. The Game 4 Africa guys do an awesome job !

 

[wildwilderness]

@wildwilderness
Lab radar, magneto speed or chrony chronograph are all much of a muchness. I have checked my chrony with a magneto speed and there was only a few fps in it.
When I set my chrony up I always do a baseline check with 22lr target ammo. This ammo is very consistent and gives 1070 +- 10fps, the same as on the box. So I can assume that it is reading correctly.
Your fail to fir with you whelen sound like a headspace issue either from the start or from bumping the shoulder to far back when reloading.
Mine is a push feed action and even empty primed cases go bang. Even the 400 Whelen notorious for minimal shoulder if set up correctly has NO failure to fire issues.
I'm glad you like the metric Whelen .
Bob

I could never figure out the FTF issue with 3 different gunsmiths, factory ammo, no set back etc. Jamming the bullets into the lands worked, but made for long COAL and possible higher pressures. ‍Who knows

with the 9,3 considered a metric whelen, I have also thought about making a “Short Whelen” wildcat but haven’t gone there yet- which do you prefer?

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I had the surprise I certainly wasn’t expecting


Bob likes the 225 grain in 338

@Dr Ray
Just because I like the 225gn doesn't mean I like the 338WM.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I could never figure out the FTF issue with 3 different gunsmiths, factory ammo, no set back etc. Jamming the bullets into the lands worked, but made for long COAL and possible higher pressures. ‍Who knows

with the 9,3 considered a metric whelen, I have also thought about making a “Short Whelen” wildcat but haven’t gone there yet- which do you prefer?

@wildwilderness
I don't think they offer that much more over a properly loaded Whelen to be worth the hassle and extra expense. I have 2 wildcats and they initially cost twice as much to get the first round as you have to load then fire form. After that you can load how you need. Then you have the cost of custom dies. I have enjoyed my trip down the wildcat road especially my 25 that I designed. Was it worth it, yes. Would I do it again no.
I could have got a 25-06 or a 257 Weatherby to do the job but I wanted to revive an old cartridge and modify it just to see how it would go with modern components. It went extremely well with 100gn bullets at 3,600fps from a 24 inch barrel
Bob